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"Afghan Girl" Photo

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"Afghan Girl" Photo

Photograph by Steve McCurry

When he wandered into an Afghan refugee camp in Pakistan in December 1984, National Geographic photographer Steve McCurry captured one of the most famous portraits the world had ever seen. The Afghan girl with the haunting green eyes captivated everyone. That captivation proved, once again, the power of photography to open eyes—and hearts and minds—with a single image.

McCurry's portrait, which appeared on the cover of National Geographic in June 1985, was shot on Kodachrome film, a relationship that lasted for decades. In June 2009, Kodak announced it was retiring the film line and asked McCurry to shoot one of the last Kodachrome rolls. The photographs from that roll will be donated to the George Eastman House museum in Rochester, New York.